Sloe Berry Stroll Walk
Sloe Berry Stroll Walk
What better way to spend an Autumn's day than picking sloes for sloe gin?
This stroll along the banks of the Helford with the chance to grab some sloe berries – perfect for homemade sloe gin that’ll be ready just in time for Christmas.
Park in the public car park at Helford Passage. Follow the hill down to the Ferryboat Inn. Follow the path to the left of the pub as it winds up the bank with the river on your right hand side.
You can follow the path towards the head of the river for as long as you like. On your right hand side are sloe bushes ripe for the picking at this time of year.
Walk and pick the fruit to your heart’s content before returning to the pub for a well-earned pint. Make sure you go armed with bags or buckets to put your sloes in!
Starting Point: Ferry Boat Inn
Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 2 hours plus time to pick sloes
Grading: Easy
End Point: Circular walk
On the way: Wonderful views of the Helford River. The Ferryboat Inn have a great selection of local food and drink and is the ideal place to grab a bite of lunch or an afternoon snack.
Walk Map
Detailed walk information
Take the bus out to the crossroads at Helford Passage and walk down the road to the beach at Helford Passage. Bar Road is on your right and opposite is the view of the mouth of the Helford River (below right).
From the Ferryboat Inn walk along the river taking the gate that is accessed along the wall where the road goes up hill to the left. The gate leads to open land. Walk uphill. The blackthorns are on your right all along this stretch so one can pick sloes and blackberries in season.
The Helford river crossing has a long history from the 13th Century when the Bishops of Exeter had a priory at St Keverne and this was the best place to cross over to the Lizard peninsula as opposed to going around via Gweek. The Helford river is a deep-water river valley or Ria and is home to the very tasty Helford Oyster and you will often see the oyster boat going up and down river. There are 42kms of shoreline on the river with seven creeks including the famous Frenchmans Creek made famous by Daphne DuMaurier.
Walk down the wide concrete path to the beach at Trebah. This path was a road laid down by the Americans in the 2nd World War for the embarkation of troops and machinery for the D Day landings on the Normandy beaches. Similar roads can be seen in Falmouth town itself and at Turnaware point on the Roseland peninsula.
Continue past the beach and along the riverside to Durgan. The Fox family sent plant hunters around the world in the 19th century for their gardens at Trebah and Glendurgan. The results can still be seen today. The Quaker family were intent on ensuring that their workers were provided for and educated and so they built the school house in Durgan.
From Durgan walk up the hill for twenty minutes past the entrance to Trebah where the café requires no entry fee. Don’t take the main path into the car park but walk past the entrance where the path goes up to the crossroads. Turn left down the road past Bar Road down to Helford Passage again.
Public transport information
Bus from Falmouth is the 500.
Nearest Toilets and Nearest Disabled Toilets
Ask at the Ferryboat Inn. A lavatory at Durgan village.
Nearest Car parks and Nearest Car Parks with disabled provision
Car park above the Ferryboat Inn.
Nearest refreshments
Ferryboat Inn and Trebah Gardens cafe.
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